The Languages of God-Speak

It has taken a lot of years for me to learn and appreciate the many languages of God-Speak as I was busy working out what I was going to do when I grew up. Early on I didn't spend a lot of time waiting for signs or asking for a divine opinion. I just made a plan for my future and moved ahead, even if there was a little hint of a feeling that perhaps I should rethink matters, or wait. Mysteriously one of three things occurred to whatever I had planned: it was blocked from moving ahead, or it went ahead with a regrettable outcome, or it went forward without a hitch and the outcome was far better than I could have ever imagined.

Communicating with God is ultimately more about validating our singular and unique God-experiences rather than trying to do something to invoke God to speak or act decisively, or worse, try to fit those experiences into whatever molds we have cast. God's job is to initiate the conversation. Our job is to learn the various languages of God-Speak.

Here are a few languages of God-Speak that I have learned. One is to read how God speaks into that which he has created, my physical being. Here I have found it easier to discern what God does not want me to do than what to do. Its that really awful feeling in my gut as I imagine a new path or idea that is totally wrong, no matter how good it seems in the light of day. Having gone against that feeling in my gut only later to have to work myself out of difficult situations has served educational, albeit unfortunate. Over time I've realized that this is not simple anxiety, but mysterious divine guidance away from what would surely be a mistake.

Other languages of God-Speak are visual images and visions. Some years ago, I went through a time when I saw colorful, non-nondescript images just before I went to sleep at night. In the dark, with my eyes closed, I suddenly began to see palates of illuminated colors. They came and went with no warning, unbidden. When they appeared they enveloped me; as if I had stepped into them. It was to know God's own happiness. These color palates were always moving; blending and changing like an abstract version of a kaleidescope. But these images of color and energy were short-lived and have not reappeared in over 15 years. I long for them still. And on two separate and unrelated occasions I experienced clear, unexpected visions that changed the course of my life in ways I could not have predicted nor the resulting joy of living in God's stead.

The final learned language of God-Speak is quite unoriginal. From time to time, over a span of a few years, I would awaken in the night after clearly hearing my name called. The voice was so loud and so real I just knew someone was standing in the room calling my name. I can't help but think of Samuel's call in the night when I think of it now. And in at least two instances that come to mind, I clearly heard the prophetic voice of God - both prophesies came to pass.

These are some of the languages of God-Speak; the mysterious, delicious, nearly intoxicating ways God speaks into our lives, unexpectedly in random moments, prosperous in possibility and promise.